Unveiled yesterday morning at the LVMH Tower in New York, called the “Connected,” one of the brand’s best-selling models. It is being sold online, as well as in select retail stores and at TAG Heuer boutiques.
Paris–TAG Heuer’s answer to Apple Watch will debut Nov. 9 and is called the “Connected,” the Swiss watch brand revealed recently. The digital hands and indexes remain visible at all times, even when the timepiece is in ambient energy-saving mode. Though it is a smartwatch, the Connected will be recognizable as a TAG, CEO Jean-Claude Biver stressed back in March when the brand announced its plans at Baselworld. “Apple Watch looks like Apple,” he said. As reported, sales were up 22 percent, from $2.25 billion to $2.73 billion.

TAG Heuer’s Connected teases coincided with the release of the parent company’s LVMH latest year-to-date financial, which displayed strong sales growth for both its timepiece and jewelry brands. The smartwatch has three dials: chronograph, three-hand, and GMT, all of which display the date and are accessible in either black, blue, or white. Other than that, TAG Heuer replica has neither released nor confirmed many details about its forthcoming smartwatch, though it now has a countdown website for the Connected and gave a glimpse of it on Twitter Monday with this Death Star-esque photo. Its resident apps, such as music, timer, alarm, and step counter, remain active even when no connection is available.

LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported Monday its Watches & Jewelry division recorded 10 percent organic (with comparable structure and constant exchange rates) revenue growth through the first nine months of the year. “TAG Heuer’s will look like cheap TAG Heuer. TAG Heuer will have the DNA of TAG Heuer.” Watches & Jewelry was the top performer among all business groups, topping Wines & Spirits and Perfumes & Cosmetics (both up 7 percent), as well as Fashion & Leather Goods (up 5 percent), which sells the iconic Louis Vuitton handbags. In an uncharacteristically playful move from the Swiss giant, these are a breath of fresh, colorfully contrasting air. Total sales for the Paris-based luxury goods conglomerate reached $28.80 billion through the first nine months of the year, up 6 percent with comparable structure and constant exchange rates.
1969 was a signal moment for Swiss watch-making, the year that retiring TAG Heuer Honorary Chairman Jack Heuer released the world’s first automatic chronograph, the Calibre 11, housed in the now-iconic square-cased Monaco model.